Introduction to Remote Year

In July 2017 I decided to share an exciting adventure with my LearnKey family. Here is the story.

In my first two years with LearnKey, I have created a Job Ready Team from nothing, managed over 50 veterans’ successful placement in careers and assisted with strategic initiatives…. All while learning the ins and outs of the IT field and training myself to be efficient and productive at home, which in theory sounds awesome, but when you are a social butterfly (as my parents say) it can pose a bit of a challenge.

The first year, I was distracted by negative questions like, “am I doing enough?” “can I do laundry during work hours, or is that illegal (I can be a bit dramatic)?”, “do people remember that I even work here?” I felt like I was doing something wrong if I wore pajamas or workout clothes all day, I mean no one saw me, right?! This negative self-talk can be detrimental to productivity especially when you do not have the physical support of your peers and coworkers. However, one day, with the simplest conversation with someone who worked remotely, and who I admired, my work from home life changed.

I was at lunch with a mentor that I revere, a woman that has it ALL together, inspires others to persevere and does it with the utmost grace and integrity. She said to me, “do you ever take an early meeting without brushing your teeth?” – or something to that effect. OMG! YES! I was overcome with excitement, like a child that can only express the excitement with a squeal. This woman, perfect, powerful, professional, sometimes does not have time to brush her teeth before a meeting!! I was not alone. I did not have to be perfect. I had to be productive. And I was.

From that day on, I hit my stride working from home. I developed new processes, assisted massive amounts of students with resumes/job searching/and interviews, often in leggings and a tank top. I made sure I brushed my teeth BEFORE every meeting! I was killing the game.

At that point, I decided I needed a new challenge. I presented my Remote Year program to Jeff, the coolest CEO you could meet. His progressive mindset and passion to change the world fueled his approval of the program. To travel the world for a year… and work. Because of the two years I had been working remotely, and the accomplishments I have, Jeff said yes. This month, July 2017 – I shared the program with my LearnKey family. And with little shock, as the team is comprised of the most genuinely, supportive, creative and all around amazing people I have encountered, they approved of my adventure as well.

Now, I HAVE to go through with this. I have no choice. Nervousness excitement is the simplest way to describe what I am feeling. But it’s more like an emotional roller coaster of EVERY AND ALL feelings you have ever felt. I hope I do not disappoint my team. I hope I can find good food. I really, really, really hope my Internet connection does not fail me in Thailand, or Prague, or Colombia! I hope I can afford shopping in every country. I hope people like me. With lots of hope, excitement, nervousness, and dedication, I embark on my journey January 2018. This blog is meant to inspire, relate to other remote workers, and hopefully make you smile. Until next month!

To learn more about Remote Year, please visit their website: https://remoteyear.com/

Photo: St. George Office Team

CEO Gets “Belted” By Senior Instructor

I have an impeccable wardrobe. Not impeccable as in perfectly tailored suits, mind you. It is impeccable in that it is perfect for the business casual work environment at LearnKey and for my second home, the golf course.

I’m talking specifically about my belt collection. Yes, I have a brown belt and a black belt like most guys do, but, I also have white, silver, mocha, purple, deep purple, navy, light blue, green, lime, neon, orange, and red belts. I even have a white/blue two-tone belt which reverses to a black belt. Snazzy, huh? Most of my co-workers are very complimentary of my wardrobe. They know good taste when they see it.

I said most because our fearless CEO, Jeff Coruccini, for the longest time failed to see the light on my colorful belts. Every time he flew up, he flat ridiculed my belts. This after I made it a point to make sure he always saw a new one for several straight trips. Spending 15 years in classroom training before coming here two years ago, I learned to read people well, so where I heard ridicule from Jeff, I felt a sense of his wishing he could pull off the look I pull off so effortlessly.

Like me, Jeff likes to get out for a frequent trip around the golf course. He recently had a birthday approaching. So, I asked his wife, Lori, “Hey, what does Jeff wear to the golf course?” Her response, “Black or white shirt and tan shorts. Nothing too exciting.” How sad, I thought. So, while Jeff was up here this week making the rounds, I had a care package sent to him. He made it home, found the box, and here my friends, is a very happy man with the start to what I am sure will be a most impressive belt collection:

Just look at the joy on his face knowing that one day, he will have that impeccable wardrobe, just like I do.

So, what does this have to do with employability and certifications and a workplace in general? Actually, there is a point here: We here at LearnKey work hard, very hard, to create the best possible courses we can to improve employability and certification prospects for all of you. But in all that hard work, we allow for fun. We allow for laughing at ourselves and with each other. And just having that attitude about life will make you more employable…every day. And, you will enjoy life that much more.

Q1 2017 Key Contributor Award Winner “epitomizes core values”

At LeanKey if you need help with a marketing piece, ask Beau. If you need help creating a newsletter, ask Beau. If you need to learn how we process student reports, ask Beau. If you need help creating a CTE/K-12 online marketing campaign, ask Beau. Website redesign ideas, ask Beau. So what has become perfectly clear? “Beau knows”!

Which is why it was exciting to announce earlier this week that Beau Shakespear was named Better Learning Systems/LearnKey’s 2017 Q1 Key Contributor Award winner. He is someone that truly demonstrates our core values: Ease, Value and Trust. He is by far one of the easiest team members to work with, and always displays a “can do” attitude. As noted above by the many “hats” he wears he has significant value, but it truly is the trust and respect he has from his peers that sets him apart. It is really hard to find anyone who is more of a team player than Beau, and when it comes to our “Why” he truly is all about “improving employability every day.”

Here are some of his key accomplishments over this past quarter:

Played a key role in the new design of our LearnKey.com website
Facilitated the new design of our tradeshow banners
Revised VA Catalogs – Worked patiently as they were re-worked close to four times over the past year (DI, VA, & Voc Rehab) and accomplished it down to one catalog now.
Created a tracking method and follow-up process for all new BO Students
Reviewed 50+ resumes and LinkedIn profiles

He accomplished the above in addition to managing a busy VA student workload and always coordinating the monthly LKVS newsletters. When members of the leadership team nominated Beau they used words like: rock star, dedication, focus, accuracy, respect, ultimate team player, even keel, nice, never a bad attitude, helpful, and “can do attitude” to describe him. Beau is no stranger to awards; three years ago he was recognized as LearnKey’s employee of the month.

Again, please join me in congratulating Beau for receiving this award. We are fortunate to have great employees, who are great team members and share our passion around “Improving Employability Every Day”!

Congratulations LearnKey for 30 years of success

Today is a big day as it is our 30-year anniversary! Back in 1987, John Clemons, our Chairman and founder of the company, officially launched LearnKey.

He had no idea the journey the company would take; he was just a young man who figured out there was a need in using video to train people how to use operating systems, software, technology, soft skills, professional development, and other topics that could help people improve their employability skills.

LearnKey would go on to help tens of thousands of people improve their job status or achieve first time IT careers through training. It started with offering courses on VHS, then CD-ROM (thanks to his brother David), then the Internet via OnlineExpert.com. Every step of the way this company figured out how to re-invent itself. At first it was a Business to Consumer (B-C) offering, then Business to Business (B-B), and each and every step of the way LearnKey figured it out.

That is because the most successful piece of the business is the great people along the way who made LearnKey what it is today. There are hundreds of employees to thank for that, starting with some who have been with us for a very long time.

Names like: Wendi Mangum, Scott Walker, Michael Watson, Chad Stocks, Jared Baker, Chip Ehlers, Wyett Ihler and Bart Giddings just to name a few are still with us today and for that we (John, David, Lori and I) are truly grateful. We started the celebration earlier this month by hosting some meals for the team; check out some of the pictures and you will see a few of the team members.

Speaking of employees today, I embark on a trip through Utah to celebrate with those named above, and our other current employees. The trip will start in Salt Lake City visiting with our production team, then to Cedar City for some fun with our post production team, and will finally hit St. George by way of LearnKey’s corporate offices for a final celebration.

Next week I will post pictures of the journey as we are proud to continue to do great work by Improving Employability Every Day.

Congratulations LearnKey and the entire team, for it has been 30 years and I sense we will continue to celebrate in another 30 years!.

Jeff

Key Contributor Award Winner: All About Improving Employability Every Day!

In January, Better Learning Systems announced our 2016 4^th quarter Key Contributor Award winner, and not only was this person well deserving but she also is about our true “Why,” which is Improving Employability Every Day!

It gives me great pleasure to announce Ms. Jessica Staples as our most recent Key Contributor award winner, someone who is quite familiar with being awesome! She is in good company as previous winners include: Jason Manibog, Kim Johnson & Wyett Ihler, Sarah Blik & Melanie Benitez and of course the rockstar LearnKey Technical Support team!

Jessica is a key member of our LearnKey Veteran Services team, making it through some major transitions over the past few years to help streamline and improve the program. She is also celebrating three (3) years with LearnKey this month. She is a true team player who constantly demonstrates our core values: Ease, Value, and Trust every day!

During the 4^th Quarter, Jessica was an enormous help with training and mentoring our newest VSR, Nina Sepulveda. With her extensive knowledge of the program and eagerness to help, she made the onboarding of Nina an easy process. We can’t thank her enough for her contribution as a team player. When things didn’t work perfectly or go according to plan, she made it work for her students and for LearnKey. She is extremely detailed and every one of her students has nothing but great things to say about her. When she takes on a task we can trust she will get it done, and with all of the I’s dotted and T’s crossed.

In 2016 our LearnKey Veteran Services Team assisted students in achieving over 285 certifications, with Jessica directly supporting 128 of those certifications! Her dedication to helping our students achieve their goals is a true example of value.

Again, please join me in congratulating Jessica for her spirited team work, “can do attitude,” and overwhelming positive and motivational support she provides our student base. She is a great reflection of what it means to be “Improving Employability Every Day”.

Kind Regards,

Jeff Coruccini

What We Do? Improving Employability Everyday

improving Employability Every Day

Greetings 2017!

As we start the new year it’s a great time to remind our learners, students, teachers, and career counselors about the two (2) key ingredients that ensure we focus on our “what we do”: Improving Employability Everyday.

At LearnKey we believe that our passion around “what we do” and our “descriptive behaviors” is what drives our culture.

Every team member in our company knows that our “What we do” is aligned to these three words: Improving Employability Everyday. We started redefining our true purpose as an organization through Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle, over three years ago and truly believe it is the fabric, along with our descriptive behaviors, that drive our culture.

We are so fanatical about this belief that any new employee team members (i.e. welcome most recently: Neil Olsen and Nina Sepulveda) must know that they must possess these key behaviors and understand “The Golden Circle” BEFORE they are even hired. Because the moment they start, that accountability to our customers and team members begin.

My goal is to meet with every team member throughout the year and remind and reinforce my commitment to them and that I will be held most accountable to those behaviors. Therefore, it is good to once again share these with you and the entire world:

Our “Why, How and What”:

“Why”: Dreams fulfilled through better learning.

“How”: Personalized learning solutions that teach job readiness skills, leverage your natural talents, and are aligned to in-demand careers.

“What”: Improving Employability Everyday.

Our seven (7) fundamentals that describe our employee culture:

Be a fanatic about response time. People expect us to respond to their questions and concerns quickly, and rapid response is one of the easiest and best ways to stand out.

Set clear expectations. So there are no misunderstandings, and remember to clarify all the time. This avoids any miscommunications.

Welcome innovation. Creativity in our products and offerings can be produced and packaged differently to meet customers’ needs.

Be a great listener. Understanding expectations and customer needs is the way we want to do business. The best talker is a good listener.

Do your homework. Be prepared for customers, product ideas, referrals, team member support, and the best way to show you’re serious.

Be a problem solver. Solve a problem, fill a need, is how we should do business with customers and in assisting other team members.

Leverage team members. To get things done, meet deadlines, and fulfill customers’ needs. Two heads are better than one.

Welcoming in the new year is a good time for me to give thanks to our team who, day in and day out, commit to themselves, as well as the learners, counselors, and teachers we support that “what we do” is focused on Improving Employability Everyday.

Also, a special thanks to Simon Sinek and the CEO’s of Vistage Group 508 who remind me all the time how important it is to have our message clear and concise.

Best Regards,

Jeff Coruccini

“Improving Employability Everyday”

CEO- LearnKey, INC.

Key Contributor Award Winners- “Lights out” at what they do

Our Key Contributor Award is a true reflection of our culture. Recognizing employees who go about their work with pride of ownership and demonstrating our core values along the way. It gives me great pleasure to announce the recipients of our 3^rd Quarter Key contributor award LearnKey employee’s Ben Lee, Tristan Roberts and Jacob Gardner who make up our “Lights Out Technical Support Team”

During July, August and September these guys released a major software update to our Learning Management Platform OnlineExpert.com and one of our client dedicated servers. It was the largest software upgrade performed in well over 10 years. Additionally, they supported the GMetrix Project which required allot of testing and implementation support.

They also re-negotiated one of our most costly contracts successfully reducing it by over 70%. To top it off they did that with a 40% reduction in staff. These initiatives we all deadline drive and they worked together, as a team to meet every critical deadline.

Every step of the way they demonstrated our core values (Ease, Value & Trust) by being Easy it is to work, showing real Trust something we know is earned whether its meeting deadlines, ensuring our networks are operational, or testing that needed to be completed they always delivered on time each and every time. Value– is something they bring to work every day. We could not be more proud of their work and how they go about it.

Just like our previous winners, please join me in congratulating them for a job well done as I could not be more proud of this team!

Warm Regards,

Jeff Coruccini

Adobe CC 2015 Test Prep Series: Adobe Premiere and Some Adobe Exam Advice

Hello again from your humble Senior Instructor. You may have noticed over the past several months a series of test prep courses we have released, all tied toward the new Adobe CC 2015 ACA (Adobe Certified Associate) exams. I wrote about the changes to the exams a while back, and, we have released test prep courses for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver.

The fifth and final test prep course, Adobe Premiere, will be out soon. Premiere is the digital video production program in the Adobe suite, and we recently completed filming the course. In this course, we cover the five main domains of the ACA exam for Adobe Premiere CC 2015:

Setting Project Requirements
Understanding Digital Video
Understanding Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015
Editing Digital Video using Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015
Exporting Video with Adobe Premiere Pro

Our test prep courses are different than a full-featured course in that we focus solely on what you need to know to pass the exam, not so much on full coverage on how to use the program. Why have we done that for Adobe CC 2015? The reason is simple: There really is not much difference between Adobe CC and Adobe CC 2015. And, we already have full courses for the Adobe CC suite, authored by highly talented Adobe specialists, including Chad Chelius (Dreamweaver and Photoshop), Lee Wiley (Illustrator), Linda Dickeson (InDesign), and Ryan James (Premiere).

The sole purpose of the test prep courses is to fill in the gaps for the new objectives for the Adobe CC 2015 tests, and provide a little review on basic concepts for these programs, as they relate to the exam objectives. We do have a pre-assessment, post-assessment, labs, and a project workbook to accompany each of these test prep courses, and these tools also map to the exam objectives.

Speaking of exam objectives, having re-certified this year in all five of the Adobe programs for which we have built these test prep courses, here are some general advice tips from me to you on how to best set yourself up to pass these exams and obtain these certifications:

Study the objective list top to bottom. For all five exams, one domain covers project terms and definitions. Do not gloss over this! This is 20% or so of each exam.
Put yourself in the shoes of a real-life professional for whatever exam you are taking. For example, if you are taking the Illustrator exam, you’re a graphic designer for the day. Many of the exam questions are scenario-based, meaning that you need to read about a situation and choose the correct answer accordingly. Yes, the test questions still map very well to the objectives, but the test is there to make sure you can identify what to do in a real-life situation.
For whatever program you are studying, make sure you can do tasks different ways, especially through using the Tools panel and the icons on the panel. Do not count on being able to use keyboard shortcuts to answer test questions (many Mac users I know cringe at the very thought of this, but, that is reality).
If you get stuck on a question, mark it for review, make your best guess, and move on. Being that the exam is about half simulation-based, it is easy to get trapped for several minutes on a question to where you are trying to remember how to do what is asked. Avoid that trap. Your time management on the exam will be better for it. And, remember that you can miss a few questions and still pass. I had a few “uh oh, what do I do” questions on these exams and still passed each one on the first try. If I can do it, so can you.

And with that, the best of luck to you in your pursuit of the Adobe ACA CC 2015 certifications!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from LearnKey

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up at the end of the week (at least for us in the United States), and you know what that means: Holiday Hours.

The LearnKey offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday, 11/24/16, and Friday, 11/25/16

LearnKey offices return to normal business hours for the rest of the month: offices are closed Saturday 11/26 and Sunday 11/27, and will re-open on Monday 11/28 (Sales and Client Services: 8am – 5pm MST, Tech Support: 7am – 6pm MST)

We wish everyone celebrating a happy Thanksgiving, and hope everyone has plenty to be thankful for!

Key Contributor Award Winners – all about Teamwork and Support!

Last week Better Learning Systems announced the recipients of our 2016 2^nd quarter Key Contributor Awards. One of the key benefits of this announcement is I use it as an opportunity to remind our team members of how important a role our core values, Ease, Value, & Trust, have in this accomplishment.

You see this award truly rolls up to making sure those individuals exemplify our core values, and the one thing that stays constant is they can’t do it alone; it takes a team. Our past recipients, Kim Johnson, Wyett Ihler, and Jason Manibog are big team players and truly support any team member they can.

Speaking of support we also had a theme this past year and it has been SUPPORT. There is a ton of that going on within our companies – it truly is part of our culture. Our production teams, mobile workforce, sales/client services, Veteran Services team, technical support teams, and administrative support working together is what is helping drive our success.

One team that really jumped out year-to-date was our Know Your Talents team. The behavioral consulting arm of the company is not only living our core values and supporting one another, they have also increased revenues 200% vs. same period last year.

That is why it gives me great pleasure to announce the Better Learning Systems Key Contributor Award winners for the 2^nd quarter are Melanie Benitez and Sarah Blik!

Sarah has had such a great year with her new sales and growth of existing customers. The largest to date for Sarah has been the Sundt/DPR joint ventures that she has sold. AND she continues to gain referrals across the country due to her success and relationships built with all the Executive Directors of the projects. Sarah has also launched us into the Title and Escrow industry, setting up a paid speaking engagement as general speaker to 200 plus executives. This is now an industry that we are beginning to circulate in which there are not many competitors. Customers always have and do love Sarah. For fun, if you know her ask her why people call her ‘Gnat’!

As for Melanie, she has almost 5 times the amount of workshops on her plate, which includes coordinating, printing, and follow up exercises after each and every workshop. She creates a ‘turn-key’ box of all ProScans, workbooks, badges, handouts, and framed certificates for each workshop and her contributions make everyone’s (all facilitators) jobs so much easier. Melanie has developed such tremendous relationships with all clients from a customer service standpoint. As we have had two large national accounts launch this year with ‘unlimited platinums,’ (Creative Testing Solutions, in all Blood Systems facilities, and HealthPlanOne) it requires a ton of coordination from the beginning of implementation and integration throughout the entire company, and Melanie has been in the forefront making this happen. Her Tutor Tuesdays now compete with Tristan’s at LearnKey in that she is gaining more and more attendance each week.

Both Sarah & Melanie make it Easy for our customers to work with them, as well as always bring Value to the equation, and we know there is no better way to build relationships unless there is a lot of Trust. That’s our core values at work.

Please join me in congratulating both of them for their great accomplishments this past year.

Jeff